1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital video signal recording and reproducing apparatus such as a digital video cassette recorder (VCR) and, more particularly, to a digital video signal recording and reproducing apparatus incorporating an IC card reading/writing unit.
2. Description of the Background
There have been put on the market various types of analog VCRs for use in the home. Although a home digital VCR has not yet been marketed, there are a number of examples that underwent trial manufacture and these are identified by Y. Eto, et al. in "Digital Video Recording Technology", p. 158.
Since the above-described analog VCRs and digital VCRs have their circuits arranged to record and reproduce video signals in the existing formats, in the event that a video signal in a new format is employed, they cannot record and reproduce the signal unless additional circuits supporting the new format are attached to them. Further, such VCRs are unable to perform operations other than recording and reproducing video signals.